Alternatives to gas and oil heating: That's how high the costs are in comparison
Created: 08/09/2022, 06:30
By: Andrea Stettner
Owners of gas and oil heating systems have little to smile about with the current price development.
Many are considering a change.
But is it even worth it?
The costs for heating and hot water are among the largest cost items when it comes to energy consumption: they account for around 83 percent of the energy consumed in the household.
This is why the wallets of owners of gas and oil heating systems are being hit particularly hard by the current sharp rise in energy prices.
Many people are therefore forced to think about a new, more cost-effective heating system.
But what alternatives are there?
And what costs should homeowners expect?
Instead of using gas or oil, homeowners can also have an alternative heating system installed.
© IMAGO/Rene Traut
Types of heating: Check out the best alternatives to gas and oil
To anticipate one thing: Replacing a heating system is always associated with high acquisition costs.
Therefore, this is usually only worthwhile if the old heating system is due to be replaced anyway, for example in the case of modernization.
But even if major repair work is pending on the system, an exchange can be worthwhile.
A short-term exchange of the heating system is hardly possible anyway, since the order books of the craftsmen are full in many places.
This should therefore be planned for the long term.
The following options are available as alternatives to gas heating or oil heating:
District heating:
Houses that are close to a district heating network can often be connected to it at low cost.
However, here too, the energy is often still obtained from natural gas and oil.
In addition to fossil fuels, district heating power plants are increasingly being operated with the help of renewable energies such as wood, biogas, solar thermal energy and waste heat.
According to the Federal Association for Energy and Water Management (BDEW), the proportion of “green district heating” is currently around 18 percent.
Wood or pellet heaters:
These are also suitable for heating large houses.
However, the price development here is hardly foreseeable.
For wood and pellets you also need a storage room for temporary storage, which can also be expensive.
Heat pump:
Even if this type of heating is a bit more expensive to buy, it can save money in the long term.
"The heat pump can be the best solution if the basic conditions of the house are right.
That means if the heating surfaces are so large that the flow temperature of the heating is a maximum of 50 degrees," explains Thomas Zwingmann from the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia to
tagesschau.de
.
Solar thermal:
Here
Solar collectors generate energy that heats the water, which in turn can be used as domestic water or for heating.
However, this does not make consumers completely independent of rising electricity prices.
According to the consumer center, about 15-20 percent of energy consumption can be replaced by solar energy
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Alternatives to oil and gas heating: a comparison of costs
The following table shows the costs that consumers who are thinking about changing their heating system can incur.
The costs may differ depending on the region and price development:
heating | acquisition cost | Maintenance costs (annual) | cost of consumption |
|---|---|---|---|
district heating | €4,500 to €12,000 | - | 11 cents |
Wood/pellets heater | €10,000 to €28,000 | €300 | Logs: 3.26 cents / wood chips: 2.87 cents / pellets: 7.22 cents |
heat pump | €15,000 to €30,000 | €50 | 23.8 cents heat pump tariff |
solar heating | €5,000 to €12,000 | €50 | - |
Source: heizsparer.de (status: 2022)
When choosing alternative heating, however, many aspects play a role: "Which option is suitable for you and whether it is worth it depends on how well your house is insulated, how large the heating surfaces are and how many people live in it" , explains consumer advocate Zwingmann.
Before replacing the heating system, experts recommend optimizing the insulation in the house, through which a lot of heat is often lost.
Otherwise the system could be too large and the heating could not be utilized enough.
In the short term, heating costs can be reduced with a few simple tricks.
Electricity consumption is also reduced if you follow a few rules when cooking or baking, for example.
